The turnoff to the entrance road is at kilometer 36.5 on
the Troncal del Norte Highway (3 kilometers north of the town
of Aguilares). The access road is one kilometer long.

The Park Offers:

A prehispanic city. The area currently open to the public
includes a walled plaza with pyramids, ball courts and other
structures.

Archaeological trail. The trail is self-guided, using a brochure
available at the snack bar.

Site museum.

Parking area.

Picnic area.

Snack bar.

Restrooms.

Operating Hours:

Tuesday through Sunday, 9am - 4pm (closed on Mondays).

Fees:

$1.00 / Salvadorans, $3.00 / foreigners.

$1.00 / cars, $2.00 / buses

Entrance is free for Salvadorans under 8 and over 60 years
of age.

Other Central Americans subject to same fees as Salvadorans.

Recommendations:

Cihuatán tends to be hot so we recommend
light clothing and comfortable footwear. Don't forget a hat
and, of course, your camera. Mosquitoes are occasionally bothersome,
so insect repellent can come in handy.

The
Park

During the 1950s, for the first time in Salvadoran history,
the government purchased important parts of two archaeological sites for
their protection: Cihuatán, where 10.5 hectares (26 acres) were acquired
in 1953 (including its Ceremonial Center), and the area of mains structures
at Tazumal. In 1994, thanks to the efforts of Antonio Cabrales (then Minister
of Agriculture), the Government purchased another 61.3 hectares (151 acres)
at Cihuatán, with which protection was extended to the Acropolis and an
ample sector of the ancient residential area. Now counting a total of
71.8 hectares (177 acres), Cihuatán is El Salvador's largest archaeological
park.

CONCULTURA (replaced in July, 2009 by the Secretaría de
Cultura) was the government agency responsible for the national archaeological
parks. In December, 1999, FUNDAR signed an agreement with CONCULTURA to
co-manage Cihuatán and to undertake the Cihuatán Project.

FUNDAR began work at Cihuatán in the year 2000. At that
time Cihuatán was virtually abandoned. The site's workers
were able to keep only a small area of the site clear, which for the most
part was covered with brush that was burned every year by vandals (taking
advantage of the lack of guards) in order to hunt small game (armadillos,
black iguanas, and opossums) driven out by the fire. The fires were also
intended to kill the occasional small tree which had struggled to grow
in these adverse conditions, to be later chopped up for use as firewood.
The site house was repeatedly looted by groups of youths who would congregate
when the site workers departed. The site house and an adjacent structure
had been turned into improvised storerooms for cultural materials (mostly
sherds) from past excavations at sites all over the country, filled with
stacks of about 5,000 sacks - largely split and spilling their contents
- in conditions which were far from appropriate. There was no electricity
or water. Visits to this desolate place were at one's own risk.

After 8 years of cooperative work, FUNDAR and CONCULTURA
inaugurated Cihuatán as an archaeological park on November 17, 2007. FUNDAR
and other donors have contributed over $300,000 to Cihuatán (see the section
Improvements by FUNDAR).

In 2009, FUNDAR decided to end its participation in park management in
order to fully dedicate itself to the investigation and dissemination
of El Salvador's archaeological heritage. In July, 2010, FUNDAR and the
Secretaría de Cultura signed a new agreement for the co-administration
of Cihuatán, in which FUNDAR continues with its research project (click
here to read more about this agreement).

The
Cihuatán Project

The Cihuatán Project is one of FUNDAR's
main activities. Cihuatán has long been recognized as the largest archaeological
site in El Salvador (although we now know that it is exceeded in size
by the neighboring site of Las Marías). The ancient city of Cihuatán arose
following the enigmatic "Maya Collapse" and became a regional
capital between AD 900 and 1200 (the Early Postclassic period).

The main pyramid at Cihuatán (Structure P-7) with Guazapa
Volcano in the background.

The Government of El Salvador owns an important part of Cihuatán, where
FUNDAR has cooperated to create an archaeological park. The objectives
of our project have included:

Starting off with a completely neglected site, implement the management
of Cihuatán.

Contribute to public education regarding Cihuatán and archaeology
in general.

Advance the investigation of Cihuatán and other sites in its region.

Contribute to the conservation, consolidation, and restoration of
its prehispanic architecture.

Identify other sites in the area for their study and protection.

Make Cihuatán a destination for national and international tourism,
which will contribute to the auto-sustainability of the park.

The Sol Meza Family (grandchildren of Antonio Sol,
who, in 1929, was the first to conduct official archaeological excavations
in El Salvador), who donated funds for remodeling the dilapidated site
house, converting it into a site museum, laboratory, and maintenance
area, with restrooms for visitors.

The Kislak Family Fund, USA, through the good offices
of Jay Kislak, whose donation contributed to the creation
of the park.

The Ford Motor Company, which awarded FUNDAR its
Conservation and Environmental Grant in order to build
a water system for the site house which captures and stores rainwater
from the roof.

The Municipality of Aguilares, which has helped in
maintenance of the park's access road and in supplying water for the
site house.

The Office of Public Affairs of the US Embassy in
El Salvador, which has awarded two grants to the Cihuatán
Project: 1) a grant for building public access stairs for the main pyramid
and ball court and for conservation of the ball court, and 2) a grant
for the investigation and conservation of the Acropolis.

The Hospital de Diagnóstico of El Salvador, under
its cultural program, has made important donations to the project.

Donna Roginski (Public Affairs Officer, US Embassy El Salvador)
holds a commemorative plaque in front of the visitor access stairway at
Cihuatán's main pyramid. This and two other stairways at the site were
financed by a grant from her office.

From left to right: Rodrigo Brito, Hilda Guerra and Marjorie
Stern (both from the Office of Public Affairs of the US Embassy) atop
the main pyramid at Cihuatán. A grant from their office also provided
funds for conservation work at the North Ball Court (visible in the background).

Individuals who have
participated in the Cihuatán Project include:

The head of the Cihuatán Archaeological Park, Pastor Gálvez,
who with his staff of workers is responsible for maintenance of the
park. Gálvez has three decades of experience archaeological excavation
with projects conducted by several archaeologists.

The co-directors of the Cihuatán Project, Karen Olsen Bruhns,
who has been committed to the investigation and protection of Cihuatán
since 1975, and Paul Amaroli. You can find ample information
about the Cihuatán Project on our sister website, www.cihuatan.org.

Zachary Revene and Pastor Gálvez during conservation work
at Structure P-5 in the North Ball Court.

José Camarena (standing with a gray T-shirt), Zachary Revene
(drawing) and personnel of Cihuatán in the temazcal (sweat bath) excavated
by Antonio Sol in 1929.

From left to right: Jorge Colorado, Astrid Francia, Edgar
Cabrera, Karen Bruhns, and Paul Amaroli in front of the Acropolis at Cihuatán.

Alejandro Teba and Edgar Cabrera take measurements at
the Acropolis.

Matilde Gil (left) and Karla De León during the limits
survey of Tehuacán (a study requested by the Municipality
of Tecoluca).

Description
of the Ancient City of Cihuatán

The North Ball Court. Cihuatán has two ball courts.

Setting

Cihuatán has long been considered the largest archaeological
site in El Salvador, covering about 3 square kilometers (approximately
1.2 square miles). The city is strategically located on a broad, low hill
which dominates the ample valley formed by the Acelhuate and Lempa rivers.
The horizon east of Cihuatán is punctuated by the rugged peaks of Guazapa
Volcano.

Cihuatán is located in central El Salvador, about 36 kilometers
north of San Salvador.

An oral tradition which may still be heard from old-timers
in this area describes how the rough peaks of Guazapa Volcano resemble
the silhouette of a sleeping woman. The place name "Cihuatán"
is from the Náhuat language (originally "Ciwátan", with penultimate
accent) which was spoken in this area at the time of the Spanish conquest.
It may be translated as "Place Next to the Woman".

Guazapa Volcano as seen from the main pyramid.

Below are the features of the sleeping woman which old-timers
distinguish in the volcano's peaks.

Anatomy of
the City

Cihuatán was a truly urban settlement with a large number of houses, temples,
and palaces. Its monumental center covers over 28 hectares (70 acres)
and is divided into two parts, the Acropolis (also called
the Eastern Ceremonial Center) which is as yet little known, and the Ceremonial
Center (also called the Western Ceremonial Center) where most
investigations have been concentrated to date.

Details of the Acropolis are tentative, as is the structure
indicated to the southeast of the main pyramid.

The Ceremonial Center (or Western Ceremonial Center) consists of a walled
precinct with the main pyramid (Structure P-7), two ball courts, and several
other buildings including temples and a structure which may have been
an elite residence. Cihuatán's large plaza may have hosted periodic markets
and festivals. Monumental construction at Cihuatán typically employs a
fill of stone and earth, confined within retaining walls of rough stone
which in many cases was faced with blocks and slabs of volcanic tuff (locally
called "talpetate") and apparently artificial blocks made like
adobe bricks from white volcanic ash (these blocks are known as "talpuja"
at Cihuatán). Pumice cobbles, usually with one side ground flat, were
also used to face walls and floors, and as chinking between other stones.
Many, and perhaps most structures carried a final facing of lime plaster.
It is remarkable that the ancient builders obtained lime by burning massive
quantities of clam shells (including a type known as "casco de burro"
[Anadara sp.]) hauled from their coastal mangrove forest habitat,
the closest of which is over 70 kilometers distant. As far as is known,
the roofs of structures in this area were of grass thatching.

The Ceremonial Center is open to visitors, and parts of some structures
have been reconstructed, including the North Ball Court and the main pyramid.
Studies undertaken by FUNDAR have added some previously unknown structures
to Cihuatán's map, including a circular temple (Structure P-28) which
was investigated in 2005.

This circular temple (Structure P-28) was studied in 2005
by FUNDAR. It was probably dedicated to the Wind God (Ehecatl). A report
on this work was published by Karen Bruhns and Paul Amaroli in the journal
Arqueología Iberoamericana (2:35-45 [2009]). Click
here to download the article (PDF file, 1MB).

The Acropolis is not yet open to public access. It is a very large platform
upon which are situated several buildings. The first study in this part
of Cihuatán was some 40 years ago, when Stanley Boggs investigated a small
platform (Structure O-4) just south of the Acropolis. It was unusual in
that over 1,000 pounds of ceramic fragments had been dumped over it in
antiquity. The ceramics included spiked censers and a wheeled figurine
representing a dog. The burial of a young woman was found under this deposit.
Next to her were the remains of a dog and several dozen miniature cups.

A spiked censer reconstructed from fragments found
on Structure O-4.

The wheeled figurine of a dog. Both objects are on display at
the National Museum of Anthropology in San Salvador (see
Boggs 1973).

In 2001, FUNDAR identified a possible palace on the Acropolis, and this
has been confirmed by the results of excavations conducted since 2005.
In many ways this royal palace replicates the general layout and architectural
features of similar structures known from central Mexico. It had a flat
masonry roof supported upon walls and thick columns built with adobe bricks.
The edges of the roof were decorated with ceramic "almenas".
It had a large patio and probably several impluvia (small patios for light
and ventilation) surrounded by rooms. This type of palace (known as a
tecpan) is characteristic of central Mexico where its antecedents reach
back many centuries before the Spanish conquest. The study of Cihuatán's
palace has only just begun, but it clearly constitutes a major piece of
evidence for the important relationship of this site with central Mexico.
You can view a tentative digital reconstruction of the palace by clicking
here.

The Acropolis at Cihuatán. A plaza separates the Acropolis
from the Ceremonial Center (view towards the east). Guazapa Volcano is
visible on the right.

The Acropolis (view towards the southeast). The excavations
are covered with plastic at day's end.

Excavation in the Palace. The surviving stump of a circular
column is in the foreground. Most of the floor here is paved with pumice
cobbles, with some rectangular "talpuja" blocks. The slightly
sunken area represents an impluvium; the roof was open over this feature
for light and ventilation, while the lowered floor acted to confine rain
water and lead it to a drain.

Left: Pastor Gálvez with a relatively intact
almena next to a major southern wall of the palace. Having fallen from
the edge of a roof, most almenas are found shattered into many fragments
(like those in the foreground). Right: Detail of the
almena.

Tláloc, the rain god, was of great importance to the residents
of Cihuatán. This ceramic effigy was found at the western base of the
Acropolis during FUNDAR's investigations of the Palace. It is currently
in the Conservation Workshop of the National Museum.

This ceramic sculpture was discovered in the salvage excavation
carried out by FUNDAR at Carranza, a suburb of Cihuatán which was being
destroyed by sugar cane cultivation. It represents a jaguar warrior. The
shape of his large pectoral (which still retains vestiges of blue paint)
is interesting, as it resembles Classic Maya pectorals crafted in the
form of the Ik symbol ("breath", "wind"). Photograph
taken at the National Museum.

Cihuatán's monumental core was surrounded by thousands of
households. Over 1,200 residential features have been identified to date
in surveys covering about one fourth of the residential zone. Karen Bruhns
has excavated 17 residential features and found that several were not
visible on the surface. Houses were built on low rectangular platforms
(faced with field stone and filled with stone and earth), upon which wattle-and-daub
("bahareque") walls were erected and covered by thatched roofs.
Terraces were constructed on the slopes of Cihuatán's hill in order to
provide level spaces for houses. Karen's
1980 monograph describing her studies of domestic archaeology at Cihuatán
is available online by clicking here (PDF file, 12MB).

Jane Kelley, in her study of the San Diegüito sector of
Cihuatán, suggests that the residential zone may have been divided into
wards ("barrios"), each marked by a neighborhood temple and
other special structures. Click
here to read her monograph (PDF file, 115MB).

A frequent question about Cihuatán is "how many people
lived there?" This is difficult to answer, for the following reasons:
1) surface counts of residential features fall short because we know that
there are many more which are "invisible" (slightly buried),
2) not all features were actually houses; some are terraces, others could
have had other functions such as storerooms, temazcals, work areas, etc.,
3) significant areas of the residential zone have been damaged by recent
agricultural activities that have "erased" many features, 4)
it is unlikely that all features were in use at the same time, and 5)
there is no direct evidence bearing on average family size at Cihuatán.
So while a simplistic approach might attempt to estimate Cihuatán's population
by multiplying the number of residential features by a supposed average
family size, the foregoing shows that this would be pure guesswork.

A residential platform south of Cihuatán's monumental
core (Federico Paredes and Pastor Gálvez).

According to existing studies, Cihuatán was founded between AD 900. These
were the times following the Maya Collapse, a phenomenon which in many
ways remains enigmatic and constitutes one of the most hotly discussed
topics in Mesoamerican archaeology. The end result of the Collapse was
the near or total abandonment of most settlements in our region between
AD 800 and 900. Cihuatán and its related sites were founded in the aftermath
of this general disaster.

Cihuatán had a brief existence of only some 150 years. Its material culture
(architecture, ceramics, and other artifacts) are strongly related with
the cultures of central Mexico. There are currently three theories about
the inhabitants of Cihuatán. One is that they were immigrants from Mexico
and were the direct ancestors of the historic Pipil who, by the time of
the Spanish conquest, covered the western half of Salvadoran territory.
Another theory is that the city was established by a different Mexican
group, and that its destruction was due to a second wave of migrants (ancestors
of the Pipil?). The third proposal is that its population was mainly of
local ethnic groups which underwent marked changes in their way of life
during the turbulent period marked by the 9th century AD following the
Maya Collapse and its consequences.

The culture represented at Cihuatán is known to archaeologists as the
Guazapa Phase. Several other Guazapa Phase settlements have been discovered
in the same region as well as throughout the western half of El Salvador.
Cihuatán was undoubtedly the capital of an important kingdom.

The city of Cihuatán was destroyed by fire. Excavations in its palace,
temples and houses have repeatedly found burnt debris fallen upon floors.
Radiocarbon dates indicate that this happened around the year AD 1100.
Was it a war that destroyed Cihuatán? This appears very likely to judge
from the evidence of a city-wide fire and from the presence of arrow and
lance points strewn amongst the debris. It remains for future investigations
to resolve this and other major questions about the ancient city.

As far as is currently known, after its destruction Cihuatán was never
again reoccupied. By the time of the Spanish conquest (1524) it had been
abandoned for about four centuries.

Left: A spiked censer measuring about 1.5
meters in height. Right: Excavations in the palace and
temples of Cihuatán have revealed that they were burned suddenly, with
censers and other objects shattered on their floors.

Investigations
and Investigators

The earliest known notice which apparently refers to Cihuatán dates from
1859, when a municipal report from Guazapa cites remains of "a large
and populous city" in the area (Guazapa is about 11 kilometers [7
miles] south of Cihuatán). About five years later, when the traveler Simeon
Habel arrived at the town of Guazapa, he was told his route had passed
by "a place called Siwhuatan…remarkable for the many ruins of foundation
walls regularly laid out."

In the period between 1925-26, archaeologist Samuel K. Lothrop visited
Cihuatán and prepared the first map of the site.

The first map of Cihuatán was drawn by Samuel K. Lothrop (1926). The
main pyramid and North Ball Court are included, as is the wall of the
Ceremonial Center. Most of the site was still forested and "not explored"
(as noted on the map) at this time.

In 1929 Antonio Sol, assisted by the Italian engineer Augusto Baratta,
undertook several months of excavation in the main pyramid and the North
Ball Court. This was the first official archaeological excavation in the
history of El Salvador.

Left: the north stairway of the main pyramid
as excavated by Antonio Sol in 1929. Right: head of one
of the 20 ceramic feline sculptures discovered by Sol in the excavation
of a structure he called "The Temple of the Idols" (Structure
P-5).

Plan of the main pyramid (Structure P-7) drafted by Augusto
Baratta in 1929 (courtesy of Alicia Sol de Morales).

Archaeologist Stanley Boggs conducted important studies in Cihuatán during
1954, 1965, and 1967. The years from 1974 to 1979 saw the contribution
of several archaeologists, including Karen Bruhns, Gloria Hernández, William
Fowler, Jane Kelley, and Earl Lubensky.

Cihuatán was in one of the most conflictive areas of the civil war of
1980-1992, when Guazapa Volcano became a major guerrilla base. Despite
the difficult circumstances, in 1986-87 José Retana, José Salguero, and
Gregorio Bello carried out a restoration of the North Ball Court.

In 1996, CONCULTURA contracted the APSIS surveying firm to create a new
map of the monumental zone.

The current Cihuatán Project began in 1999 with the
participation of FUNDAR and San Francisco State University, California,
with the support of an endowment received from USAID and the general coordination
of CONCULTURA. Fabio Amador and Paul Amaroli conducted the limits survey
of Cihuatán (1999-2001) and in the investigation of the main pyramid (2001-2002)
which was coordinated by Karen Bruhns. Between 2000 and 2009, in addition
to those already mentioned, the project has benefited from the participation
of Vladimir Avila and Zachary Revene, as well as the following students
of archaeology and anthropology: Miriam Méndez, Federico Paredes, Liuba
Morán, José Camarena, Astrid Francia, Edgar Chacón, Rebeca Gámez and Luis
Sibrián. The work performed has included mapping, excavations in the circular
temple (P-28) and the royal palace, as well as conservation work in the
North Ball Court, Structure P-12, and the palace.

Procedures
Regarding Permits and Supervision

The reader may be interested to know something of the permit process
for archaeological investigation in El Salvador. In brief, a proposal
is submitted to the Secretaría de Cultura which includes a description
of the proposed project. Though previously only vaguely defined, the procedures
and requirements were published in 2007 as the "Normativa de regulación
de investigaciones arqueológicas de El Salvador", and of course FUNDAR
complies with these. A Government supervisor is assigned to each project.

A supervisory visit to Cihuatán. From left to right: Fabricio
Valdivieso, Paul Amaroli, Juana Toledo, Rodrigo Brito and Federico Hernández.

Government archaeologists who have been assigned to supervise
FUNDAR projects have inlcuded:

Marlon Escamilla

Heriberto Erquicia

Claudia Ramírez

Fabricio Valdivieso

Shione Shibata

The Antonio
Sol Museum of the Ancient City of Cihuatán

The Antonio SolMuseum was so named
after Antonio Sol, the investigator who undertook the very first archaeological
excavations in El Salvador. These were conducted at Cihuatán during 1929.
Until now, Sol's contribution had previously gone ignored.

Since many site museums in the world have been victims of theft, it was
decided not put at risk irreplaceable cultural materials at Cihuatán.
Because of this, the Antonio Sol Museum exhibits drawings, photographs,
and texts, but no artifacts.

The museum occupies part of the site house which was extensively remodeled
and enlarged. It opened its doors to the public on November 17, 2007,
with the inauguration of the CIhuatán Archaeological Park.

The Antonio Sol Museum (with a person standing at the entrance)
occupies most of the site house, which also has restrooms, an area for
personnel and maintenance, and the project lab. The snack bar is to the
right.

A walkway in front of the museum.

The museum entrance and a closeup of the sign over its
entrance.

The museum has 11 topical exhibits with texts in Spanish
and English. To avoid reading problems frequently encountered in exhibits,
large fonts have been used without any decorative backgrounds.

This example is the first exhibit which describes Antonio
Sol's contribution to Cihuatán and Salvadoran archaeology.

The Archaeological
Trail

FUNDAR created an archaeological trail at Cihuatán (the term "interpretive
trail" is unknown to the majority here). The trail takes the visitor
on a self-guided tour through the city's Ceremonial Center, using brochures
(in Spanish and English) available at the snack bar. The circuit represents
a walk of about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile).

Map showing the route of the archaeological trail.

The cover of the brochure used for the self-guided walk
along the archaeological trail (available in Spanish and English). Its
graphic design, along with that of the museum exhibits and the park signage,
was a donation made by Diego Brito. You can download the brochure by clicking
here for the version in English
or here for the version in Spanish.
Note: these versions are from 2008 and make reference to FUNDAR's participation
in the management of other parks.

The trail as it passes along the wall. The trail is marked
with whitewashed stones. The stops are indicated by numbered wood posts.

Guazapa Volcano (here framed by a ceiba tree) is a constant
companion in your visit to Cihuatán.

Improvements
by FUNDAR

The work carried out at Cihuatán by FUNDAR began with a virtually
abandoned site.

FUNDAR began improvements at the site in the year 2000, culminating with
the inauguration of the Cihuatán Archaeological Park on November 17, 2007.
In September, 2009, FUNDAR decided to discontinue its participation in
park management in order to fully dedicate itself to investigation and
dissemination. In July, 2010, however, FUNDAR and the Secretaría de Cultura
signed a new agreement to continue in the co-administration of Cihuatán,
and we hope to provide the park with many more improvements.

In the following description, whenever possible we use "before and
after" views in order to illustrate the improvements made by FUNDAR
with the help of many institutions and individuals.

We began with what was most needed:
access. The access road leading to Cihuatán is a kilometer
(0.6 miles) long and was impassable for most vehicles. A first task in
2000 was its repair, and now any type of vehicle can reach Cihuatán.

There was no electricity at Cihuatán.Thanks to FUNDAR's actions, in the year 2000 a kilometer of new
electric line was installed in order to connect the site house. This photograph
was taken the night the lights went on at Cihuatán.

There was no signage at the park. Now
there is at the entrance....

...along the long access road...

...and in the new parking area and in other sectors of
the park.

FUNDAR implemented the zonification
of the park in order to improve its use by visitors. For
example, food (and trash) are now limited to the area of the installations.
The entrance (left) is regulated, and the exit (right) is by means of
a one-way spinning gate.

BEFORE

Lacking a defined parking area, vehicles entered
as far as possible until blocked by the fragile prehispanic buildings.
(the temple P-20 is visible next to the bus).

AFTER

FUNDAR defined a parking area with capacity
for many vehicles in what used to be a "chagüite" (an
over-sized mud puddle).

The
Cihuatán House: From Abandonment to a Museum and Workplace

The Cihuatán house was built in the 1970s and was intended for use by
projects at the site. It included a space where Archaeologist Stanley
Boggs planned to install a site museum, but this never happened.

We found the house in almost total abandonment. Given the absence of
park guards, at that time the house was burglarized at will. It was full
of sacks (mostly split open) of sherds from excavations all over the country,
all covered by a layer of guano from the multitude of bats which had established
their quarters in the dilapidated structure. Still more sacks overflowed
from a shed originally intended to store lime. These cultural materials
had been hurriedly stored here when the old National Museum building was
demolished around 1997. Because the site house had been given over to
improvised storage, it was impossible to use the building for its intended
purpose as a project workspace and museum. It was not even possible to
clean the house.

In the year 2000, at FUNDAR's behest, 24-hour guards began their duties
to protect the site and the house. In 2005, CONCULTURA authorized the
transfer of the materials to one of its storage facilities at another
site, for which FUNDAR repackaged over 700 sacks and several boxes.

A small part of the cultural materials which we found
piled high in the Cihuatán house.

Left: This man is contemplating approximately
400 sacks crammed into a shed originally intended to store lime for conservation
work. Ceramic sherds and obsidian pour from the mostly burst sacks. The
sacks included materials from Cara Sucia, Asanyamba (Chapernalito), and
several sites now lost under the Cerrón Grande reservoir. Right:
We begin repackaging these materials. The shed later served as the basis
for building the park's ticket booth and snack bar.

FUNDAR repackaged the materials with some 700 sacks and
several boxes in order to transfer them to a CONCULTURA storage facility.

Having finished this first step, of clearing
out the house ill-used for storage, FUNDAR began the project of remodeling
the house in order to transform it into
a site museum, lab, area for personnel and maintenance, and restrooms
for visitors. Here are several before and after views of this
work:

BEFORE

The Cihuatán house had a damaged roof, deteriorated
floor, deformed metal doors, and many other shortcomings. It
was used as an improvised storage area, being packed with cultural
materials in deplorable conditions from many different sites,
because of which it was impossible to use the house for any
other purpose.

AFTER

The house after remodeling, with a new roof, new
facade (to the right), and new floors, doors, and windows. The
rear of the structure was enlarged to build visitor restrooms.

BEFORE

The dilapidated house, with its walkway ("corredor")
enclosed with cyclone fence. There was no electricity or water.

AFTER

The walkway area after remodeling. It now has
decorative wrought iron (hand made), a ceiling made of locally
grown reeds ("vara de castilla"), and new doors and
windows. There is now electricity and water for gardens and
cleaning.

BEFORE

The walkway with its deteriorated floor of cement
tiles and windows covered with sheet metal.

AFTER

The remodeled walkway, with ceramic tile floor,
ceiling made of reeds, new wooden doors and windows and decorative
wrought iron.

BEFORE

The house's main entrance.

AFTER

This is now the entrance to the museum. To the
right may be seen the restrooms for use by students. A cobblestone
path leads around the structure.

BEFORE

This area, like the rest of the house, was an
improvised store room.

AFTER

Now it's a museum where visitors may learn about
the prehispanic past.

BEFORE

One end of the house before remodeling. At that
time there were no restrooms or latrines for visitors to Cihuatán.

AFTER

This end of the house was considerably enlarged
for the new visitor restrooms.

At Cihuatán and two other parks (Joya de Cerén
and San Andrés) there are now separate restrooms for regular
visitors and for students. This is a singular solution to a
local reality: groups of students sometimes trash the park's
restrooms, requiring very frequent cleaning and resupply - this
proved difficult. The poor conditions of park restrooms were
often noted by visitors. Our solution of building separate restrooms
for visitors and students has worked.

In the past, the lack of water at Cihuatán was a major problem.
Thanks to a Ford Motor Company Conservation and Environmental
Grant and additional funds from FUNDAR, we built a rainwater
capture system. Rain falling on the house's roof is led to a cistern equipped
with an electric pump. The water is used for the restrooms, for the landscaping
around the house, and to wash cultural materials from excavation. On occasion,
when the cistern runs low during the dry season, the Municipality of Aguilares
has supplied Cihuatán with "refills" from a water truck (with
special thanks to the Mayor, Dr. Wilfredo Peña).

Left: A sink in one of the modern restrooms
built for visitors. Right: For the first time ever, there's
water in the house.

BEFORE

A shed next to the house had originally been built
to store lime, but like the house itself, it had been filled
with sacks of cultural materials from other sites. It was in
poor condition. The upper portion of the walls was crumbling.
The roof was made of fragments of "duralita" (a popular
cement-based corrugated roofing material).

AFTER

FUNDAR used the base of the shed to build a snack
bar and (on the other side, with an internal division)
the CONCULTURA's ticket booth where visitors
pay entrance fees.

CONCULTURA's ticket booth was built on the other side
of the former shed, with a view of the parking area. The people responsible
for collecting fees are Gloria Palma Alfaro and Gérman Alexander Reyes
Guevara.

Improvements
Within the Park: Conservation, Public Access, and Visual Enhancement

BEFORE

This small temple platform (Structure P-12) was
one of several structures excavated in the 1970s but never reburied
or consolidated. Most of Cihuatán's architecture consists of
stones with earth as a mortar, and after three decades this
platform was in poor condition. Trees growing on the structure
were another souce of damage.

AFTER

Karen Bruhns directed the consolidation of this
structure, including some minor restoration (duly indicated
in the structure itself) supported by drawings and photographs
made by its excavator. It is now a stop along the archeological
trail. A bilingual (Spanish/English) monograph on the excavation
of this and another structure was published in collaboration
between San Francisco State University and FUNDAR with
the title,The Excavation of Structures P-12 and
P-20 at Cihuatán, El Salvador/ Excavación de las Estructuras
P-12 and P20 de Cihuatán, El Salvador, Paper 22,
Treganza Anthropology Museum, San Francisco State University
(2005). The author was Archaeologist Earl Lubensky, who passed
away on May 1st, 2009.

BEFORE

Structure P-5 (named the “Temple of the Idols”
by Antonio Sol) lies at one end of the North Ball Court. The
stairs of this structure were excavated by Sol in 1929, and
around 1965 these were partially restored by Tomás Fidias Jiménez.
The balustrades (“alfardas”) which frame the stairs originally
measured 30 centimeters (12 inches) in height, and what follows
above that level (including the “cubes” surmounting the balustrades)
was “imaginatively” introduced during that restoration. The
stairs were in poor condition because of erosion from the rain
and from unrestricted visitor access.

...DURING...

Work conducted by FUNDAR under the supervision
of Zachary Revene and Pastor Gálvez consolidated the area excavated
by Sol, including segments of the terraces on both sides of
the stairs. In this photo, Zachary and Pastor are applying a
new weather resistant mortar in the interstices between the
original stones, without adding other elements.

AFTER

Following the consolidation work (which requires periodic monitoring),
FUNDAR installed two metal stairways in order to pass over Structure
P-5 without damaging it as part of the archaeological
trail. Access to the fragile area is limited using green rope
on supports of the same color which are nearly invisible during
the rainy season.

Pending is the removal of the false portions of the balustrades.

This conservation work was financed by the Office of Public Affairs
of the US Embassy.

BEFORE

The main pyramid (Structure P-7) had a trail cutting
up to a meter (3 feet) deep on the corner where visitors used
to climb to its top. This damage was progressive, and had gotten
to the point where original stones were being displaced.

AFTER

FUNDAR built a 21 meter (69 feet) long metal stairway
so that visitors can climb the pyramid without damaging it as
part of the archaeological trail.

The stairway was financed by the Office of Public Affairs of
the US Embassy.

It was built in three sections in order to facilitate its installation
on the pyramid. If necessary, it can be uninstalled in a single
day. The stairway does not affect the pyramid; it is superficially
supported along the body of the structure, and its base is anchored
in an accumulation of backdirt from Antonio Sol’s 1929 excavation.

This sign helps guide visitors to the stairway.

BEFORE

Despite being one of Cihuatán’s largest structures,
until recently the Acropolis was covered by scrub, poorly visible
and almost unknown even to archaeologists. The scrub would be
burned over every year by vandals in order to gather firewood
(from saplings killed by the fire) and to hut animals flushed
out by the flames.

...DURING...

We cleared the brush and planted grass on the
“new” plaza which was exposed by this work. Under FUNDAR, the
area planted in grass has increased from about 1 hectare to
5 (2.5 to 12 acres).

AFTER

You can now ponder the Acropolis and its plaza
in their full splendor. Although the Acropolis is not yet open
to visitors, this view is part of the archaeological trail.
The Acropolis was the location of Cihuatán’s royal palace.

The maintenance of 5 hectares (12 acres) of lawn requires
much work during the rainy season. Left: Antonio Castillo handling
a lawn mower. Right: He has the more ecological help of several
sheep.

And so ends another day at Cihuatán (silhouettes of a
ceiba tree and San Salvador Volcano).